The Price of Love
by Midori Konbu
Summary: New Ch. 5 is up! The most precious person in her life got snatched away from her, and she knew that nothing would ever stay the same anymore... A slight twist on the original story Batt, Tomoe, Akira with the younger version of Enishi R&R pls.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N**: A bit of Tomoe & Akira won't hurt right…

**Disclaimer**: All property of Watsuki Nobuhiro Et cetera…

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**CHAPTER 1 **

**The Ideal Couple**

**

* * *

**

"Sure Akira…." A soft, chime-like voice was heard in the room.

As soon as she walked out from the dining room, Akira followed in suit. He is so in love with his beautiful fiancé and can't keep his eyes off her.

_She is oh so beautiful._

Tomoe blushed slightly as she looked back to see Akira, as he failed to give any further response, and she saw a affectionate-glazed eyes looked back at her lovingly.

"Onee-san…"

The voice of a pre-teenage boy really ruined the sweetly electrifying moment that had the lovers' world stopped turning for a while.

Enishi frowned at their exchange of looks. One rather annoyed look from Kiyosato, which was quickly hidden beneath his cool composure, and one smile from his beloved sister. He let a small smile out to his sister, and quickly took hold of her hand while he's trying to separate the shared intimacy that was clouding the dining room.

He saw them inside the house and had tried to spy their conversation from the garden, to no avail. He couldn't seem to detect what they're saying, and as quickly as it came, he saw his sister was hugged by the damned guy. His blood boiled. He ran back into the house as fast as he could.

"Eni-kun…matte…", she gasped a little as he pulled her away. Enishi cast a questioning look back at her, only to have her hand covered his and squeezed his a bit more, before that same hand went to reach out to Kiyosato's, and lingered there for a bit, as she murmured something on his ear. As if to further aggravate him, Akira gave her another hug and it seemed like forever before he let her go and turned around to walk away from the Yukishiro siblings' home.

Enishi almost slumped his shoulders dejectedly at seeing that. He never liked Kiyosato…heck, he loathes him so much! _Onee-san is not his, she is mine…._

An extreme protective feeling welled up in him, but before he could do anything about it, Tomoe snatched his hand lovingly and hugged her little brother. "Let's go, Eni-kun.." All thoughts seemed to disappear from Enishi as his sister enveloped him tightly. His hatred seemed to be momentarily forgotten as he shot a smile to her, and both of them quickly made their way to the town.

Tomoe sighed as she looked right through the windows in the confinement of her own house. She is twenty four, and Enishi is twelve. Their parents were killed in snowstorm that hit their little town five years ago, and since then, Tomoe took up all responsibilities and became almost like a single mother to her beloved little brother. Seemingly, she showered him with too mush attention and spoiled him by agreeing to his every request. Now he has grown a bit older and he has developed a certain sister-complex toward her. What should she do? She hasn't got the heart to suddenly change her attitude toward him either. But she was quite devastated when he didn't approve her relationship with Akira.

She is in love with him. Her first and last love, her current fiancé, and her only next of kin disapproves of that. She closed her eyes, reminiscing about what happened earlier that day.

"Tomoe, I promise that whatever happens, I will be by your side…"

"Aki,", he placed a finger atop of her lips to quieten her reply.

"I haven't finished yet….I know that Enishi-kun doesn't like me yet…but. I will work at it…I…

I'd like to ask you…..would you be my wife, Yukishiro Tomoe?"

Tears sprang to her eyes as she looked disbelievingly at her fiancé. _He wants me to be his wife…he wants me to be…his wife…_

"Tomoe…." Akira inquired softly, feeling rather awkward at the prolonged silence.

Tomoe leapt up to hug him closely. She was so happy that words failed her. She nestled her head at the joint of his shoulder as she nodded. Her hands came up to wipe off her tears of joy, but Akira wouldn't let her. He took her hands away with one hand, and his other hand came up to caress her wet cheek.

"I love you, Tomoe Yukishiro.." and he kissed her lips ever so tenderly.

She tightened her hold around his neck.

They stood in the middle of the simple guest room, quite bare with only tatami mat, some pillows to sit on, a wooden desk and a vase of freshly picked flowers that adorned the table nicely. Akira talked about his plan of their wedding, occasionally glancing at his future wife who would blush profusely as his eyes met hers, but at the end of the conversation, he sighed, before half-heartedly told her of his duty.

"Tomoe…I don't know how to say this to you, but at the same time...

I won't hide anything from you…..I was recently sent off for a mission.."

He took a deep breath

"But I promise I will come back to you as soon as this stupid government mission is done"

"…"

"….Then I plan to resign from my position, and settle down with you..and Enishi-kun", he added quickly, "…elsewhere….."

"…."

"That is..if you agree…", he finished hastily.

A soft, feminine voice broke the silence.

"This mission…..is it dangerous…Aki?", she hesitantly inquired.

Akira caressed her smooth porcelain face tenderly "All government mission is quite dangerous, Tomoe…but this is my last mission before I resign….I'll give my best effort on it…I assure you I'll come back to you and we'll have our wedding soon", he smiled at her.

A worried look pasted on her face.

"When…when are you leaving?", she bravely asked, though her heart wavered.

"First thing next week….", he replied honestly.

"…"

"I'd want you to start looking around for the wedding preparation, and the dress…I will come with you tomorrow if you'd like, when Eni-kun is at school, so he wouldn't scowl at me..", he grinned boyishly as he remarked on Enishi's obvious dislike toward him.

Tomoe had to smile at his attempt to bring her out of her fear and worried state.

"I'm sorry about Eni-kun, Aki…" she bowed down, embarrassed at her younger brother's extreme possessiveness toward her; as she was the one who tutored and cared for him since he was little. "I have tried my best to.."

"Ssh.., it's not your fault, Tomoe…I'm proud of you actually….and…if I were Enishi, I'd probably have done the same thing toward my sister's fiancé…'cause she is so beautiful and perfect…" Akira cut her off…

"And…_she is mine_", he finished in near-whisper.

Tomoe's cheeks pinkened as his words echoed sweetly in her heart.

Enishi came into the house as the couple was just talking about other things. He immediately cast a hateful glance at the tall guy who's standing next to his sister.

He was rather excited coming home because he and his sister were going to the town to get their weekly supplies. The smallest of things, as long as his sister was there with him, make him feel satisfied and fulfilled. When this Kiyosato guy turned up a year ago, he felt a bit threatened. When he was engaged to his sister, he was about to dump a load of protests right off, but he couldn't…

_Not when his sister looked so happy…._

_Nee-san never looked that happy before…_

He had to swallow his anger at seeing the loathed guy got engaged to her.

Now he has to put up with seeing him with her every now and then.

Luckily he's a government officer and tends to get quite busy, that he wouldn't see him around too much, but still, once or twice a month for Enishi was already too much.

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	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Just a reminder, this fic contains plenty of Tomoe's POV. Kind of angsty..well..I hope to anyway..

Disclaimer: Tomoe I don't own, but Enishi I do..ehehe… (O-kay..RK ain't mine)

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**CHAPTER II**

**Pieces of a Shattered Dream **

* * *

A letter posted to the Yukishiro siblings' home a month later turned her world upside down.

It seemed that it's only been yesterday when he anxiously asked for her hand in marriage.

Tomoe's head whirled in confusion, her eyes skimmed through the letter disbelievingly. She held onto the wooden table tightly.

As if in a trance, she read the letter, and re-read it multiple times until every sentence and every word were etched in her mind. Her grip on the table grew loose and it finally slipped off her slender hands.

_'It can't be happening…'_

_'It is impossible…'_

Their dream was shattered completely with that one letter..

With that last thought, her world went black.

--------------------

"Onee-san…..", a faint whisper was heard.

She cracked her eyes open dazedly. She saw a familiar figure that was her beloved little brother looming over her figure and for once he didn't hide his worried expression on his face.

She tried to smile at him reassuringly…

The weak smile faltered…

Tears trickled afresh from the corners of her eyes…

'_She was not so strong enough now….'_

…

'_She has to be…for Enishi's sake…'_

_'She has to be…'_

The tears flowed out copiously from her pretty eyes. A pair of forearms wrapped in pale pink kimono sleeves went up to her face to cover herself from her brother's acute gaze.

Enishi was taken aback. His sister never cried, well, never like this anyway..

_She is now…crying…_

He thought relentlessly of a way to soothe her.

Awkwardly he sat on the side of the bed, then he leaned slightly forward and put his arms around his shoulder, and hugged her tightly.

As if to encourage her to open up.

Tomoe eyes went wide, before she closed them again, and this time, her tears kept coursing down her beautiful onyx colored eyes as she sobbed on her little brother's shoulder.

"Eni-kun, he is... dead…", her very sad and muffled tone of voice reverberated on his shoulder.

He closed his eyes. He knew what the letter said, as he eventually read it after he returned home, only to see his sister's still form lying on the floor. He was scared out of his wits when he saw her.

When he read the letter, it all made sense.

He silently recalled what it said as he hugged her tightly.

_'We have received an unfortunate news of Kiyosato Akira. He was ambushed near the enemy line during his mission and passed away shortly after. We offer our deepest sympathy……'_

The rest of the letter was of no importance to him. It was just some sort of crappy sympathy statement that was flatly delivered without real feeling. He frowned at her sister's muffled cries….

_'Stupid Kiyosato. He has made Onee-san cry…'_

_

* * *

_

She was a living, breathing doll….

She would do the normal house chores, but there was always this dull light reflected from her beautiful eyes.

Enishi looked at her and inwardly sighed. '_What could I do to cheer her up? '_

Tomoe was still working as usual. She was very talented in sewing and ikebana, and she held classes at her house, just to provide for the needs of both Enishi and herself. Lately she forced herself to wake up from her zombie-state of mind. She never showed any sign nor affection toward Enishi anymore. She was still silently crying her eyes out every night, mourning for her husband-to-be that was killed in a mission.

_'Killed in a mission_…'those words echoed in her mind.

She glanced at her drawers, and saw the corner of a neatly folded envelope jutting out from one of the drawers. With a determined look in her eyes, she set her sewing material down and approached the drawers.

She took the envelope and unfolded it. The content of the letter still haunted her.

But this time she needs to read it. She swallowed a lump that was suddenly formed in her throat as she recognized the neat lines of black ink.

As soon as she finished reading the letter, she looked at the clock "11.17", it showed.

She took her coat and went off to the direction of the town.

Enishi came home from school that afternoon and straight away looked for his sister. He kept on worrying about her so much that school was an obstacle to him. He was a very smart boy who never needed to study much, but his sister always insisted that school was crucial to prepare his future. He obeyed her just to respect her wishes.

He found her bending over at the sink, busily washing up some dishes. He sighed in relief that she was home and everything was okay.

She turned around and saw him standing at the kitchen's door, looking at her back. She let out a small smile and ruffled his hair.

"What would you like for dinner, Eni-kun?", her voice bellied no hint of sadness.

He looked up in surprise to see his sister looked at him, her usual elegant smile pasted on her pretty face.

"….A..a..nandemo ii, Onee-san", he stuttered, feeling rather happy all the same at seeing his sister once again looked like her normal old-self.

_He doesn't know…_

_He doesn't need to know…_

Tomoe has her little secret well-kept within her journal everyday. And those two sentences were written on that day she woke up from her agony.

During the day when Enishi went to school, she would go to the town and straight into the colossal white building to work.

* * *

It has been almost two months since Akira's death, and Tomoe has been working for sometime now, without her little brother knowing.

"Tomoe-san….we've got a bit of a lead", someone said quietly.

Tomoe turned around to see her colleague standing close-by to inform her of that precious information. She nodded in understanding. A paper was quickly shuffled into her hand. She held it real tight. Her heart was beating fast.

_'Aki….I will not let you down…'_

She went to her desk and skimmed the piece of paper quickly.

"The name's Battousai... With a single scar on his cheek.

Tansawa Tea house tomorrow night. 7 pm".

She folded that paper multiple times and shredded it into bits and pieces before dumping it discreetly into one of the rubbish bins.

Now, all she needed was to look for a passable excuse.

* * *

"Eni-kun, I just received a letter from old friends today…", she started, smiling. In her hands, there was a folded letter.

Enishi looked at her questioningly, waiting for her to continue.

She could feel her hands getting cold and sweaty, but was determined not to show any of it.

"Well…Yamamoto-san and Kiri-san are nice people and they have asked me to go to this tea house tomorrow evening", she casually threw him another smile.

"Can I come too, Nee-san?", he inquired quickly.

She half-anticipated this. "Well, they are going to pick me up tomorrow evening, and I doubt it if I'd be taking so long…it's just a friendly chat, I'd think you'll find it rather boring…" she chuckled. Enishi gaped at seeing her…chuckling?

Before he could utter anything else, Tomoe cut in "Why don't you stay home for me, I promise I won't be long…", her sweet smile never left her face.

_Inside, she was crying as she remembered…Akira was saying similar thing to her_ _before he left for that damned mission. _Still, she showed none of it

"Ah….right…if you say so…", he relented.

_'It was quite convincing…' _Tomoe inwardly sighed in relief.

This was the time to think of other preparations she needed to make.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N**: I tend to think that Tomoe personifies the term 'quiet elegance'. Well, I don't know about you, what do you think? (And Enishi is the epitome of an alpha male..eheheheh..) author's gone nuts due to lack of sleep.

**Disclaimer**: Still the same as before..

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**CHAPTER III**

**Mission Stage One **

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Dressed in her rather formal kimono, black in colour with golden coloured petals embroidered nicely on the fabric, a matching obi and a pair of shiny black geta, she decided she was ready to go. Soon, her 'friends' will come to pick her up and accompany her to the so-called tea house.

'_Just to keep any suspicion at bay…_'she reasoned.

She glanced at herself in the mirror.

Within the orbs of her eyes, she saw a glint of something, as if it was her dying spirit that just found a little glimmer of hope to survive.

She applied dark crimson tint on her lush lips and combed her silky long tresses in place.

There was a knock on the door. _Once..twice_ and she let it on deliberately, knowing that Enishi would open the door for the expected guests.

He did. And he faced an elderly couple in traditional kimono looking at him with a smile. He bowed his head to show respect as he let them in, saying nothing.

" Yamamoto-san, Kiri-san….good evening", Tomoe emerged out from her room, looking as elegant as ever. Enishi looked at her admiringly.

She shot him a warm smile before walking towards the elderly couple to shake their hands.

"Tomoe-chan….it's really nice meeting you again", the elderly woman, Kiri-san, was saying.

"Ah, Tomoe-chan, since we have reserved our table, we better hurry…I can't wait to tell you about our new house in Kyoto", the husband said.

Tomoe smiled at them "Let us go then…I'd love to hear it", and she turned to face Enishi before they left.

She hugged him tightly and smiled, "I won't be long, Eni-kun…eat your dinner, okay!", and she slipped out with her two companions into the fading violet hue of the evening sky.

"Was that your brother, Tomoe-san?", the elderly man asked.

She simply nodded. Her mind wandered off elsewhere.

"He's still very young", he remarked.

Their walk to the said tea house was a quiet one.

They entered Tansawa and was directed to their table immediately.

"Shall we leave you now, Tomoe-san?", they quietly enquired as the three of them sat around the conventional wooden table.

Tomoe willed herself to be strong even though she felt all strength suddenly sucked out from her body once again. She wanted to say "No, please stay, help me…", but she just looked up to them and nodded.

"Yes, I will be fine. I'll take it from here", she said with a calmness that she can't really feel inside.

"Be careful, Tomoe-san"…Kiri-san said.

"We'll be around when you need us.." Yamamoto-san added.

With those words, they quietly left the premises.

* * *

Tomoe looked in front of her. The tea she ordered was getting rather cold, and her food too. She has been waiting for half an hour for a particular figure. She glanced at the old wooden clock near the entrance. It was 7.15. Tomoe sighed as she sipped the now cool tea, forcing it to go down her throat.

Just as she did so, a new group came into the teahouse.

_'Seven to eight people'_, she quickly assessed…

She was discreetly looking at the group that suspiciously looked rather formal in their distinctive uniform.

_Hmmm….everyone was wearing dark gray uniform, with swords sheathed in their belts, and the distinctive colour of their uniform screamed…._

_'Isshin shishi'…_..she whispered in realization.

Wait….not all was wearing Isshin's uniform. One man, a slightly petite in built, stood up in that group because of the magenta coloured hakama he was wearing. Come to think of it, he also has long red hair that was tied up in some sort of string. Tucked into his belt, there was the hilt of a black sword jutting out threateningly.

She eyed him rather curiously. _He looks different from the rest_. As she quietly observed from her conveniently located table, the strange red-haired man turned around and looked directly into her eyes. A magnetic shade of beautiful amethyst shot a distinctive stare back at her.

She almost yelped in fear of being caught up staring, but managed to simply dodge that stare in an unassuming and innocent act of sipping her cold tea once more while her own stare wavered.

'_He gave the coldest glare she's ever seen in her entire life…'_

He turned his head back to his group, and she was looking up to him again, to appease her curiosity once more, just in time to see an important revelation.

"Oh, Kami-sama…..",

she had to suppress her reaction by biting her lower lip quite hard.

The single scar on his cheek was the tell-tale sign informed to her.

She gulped her tea as her whole body suddenly shook with fine tremors...

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	4. Chapter 4

**A/N**: Hey there…sorry for the long delay, and for the fact that it's a little short…ehehhe… I promise next chap will be longer.

Oh, let me know what you think about this story, pls..

**Disclaimer**: I want to rip this disclaimer apart…arghh…Owkay, Battousai isn't mine either..

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**CHAPTER IV**

**Mission Stage Two**

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**Tansawa Tea house**

Battousai was immediately alert as they entered their regular Teahouse. Being the infamous Isshin Shishi, they are often targeted by the others, especially since they seem to be getting the spotlight with recent massacre in Kyoto. He has to be careful at all times.

This time was no different. As soon as he stepped in, he took note of his surroundings discreetly. Nothing was amiss….except suddenly he felt like someone was looking…no, rather…staring at him.

He can easily sense from which direction it came from, and decided to turn his head to see who dared to stare at him.

He was taken aback at seeing the most beautiful face he had ever come across, not that he cares about women, no, he never bothered to get involved with one. He was too cold and stoic for women anyway, or so his comrades always said.

Not that he gives a damn about it.

His skill to hide any facial expression was indispensable, for his demeanor didn't budge. He still depicted that dormant expression on his face, even though he pondered a little about the beautiful young woman sitting alone in the teahouse.

_Must be one of those women…_, he guessed absently.

_But she didn't look like one. She was far too elegant and refined-looking to be one_. He frowned inwardly at his own reasoning. _Now, why would he care about what she is?_

He forced himself to tear his eyes from the magnificent beauty before him, as he saw her face slightly bowed down and she sipped her tea calmly as if she never stared at him in the first place. He tried to act as aloof as usual.

A thousand of thoughts were running through Tomoe's mind.

She was unsure of what she should do.

This was only the beginning of the plan.

Yes, she can't rush it, she has to calm down and take each step carefully. She can do this.

She took in a few deep breaths to calm her erratic thoughts down.

She glanced at her surroundings as though she was waiting for someone but they haven't turned up just yet, and feigned a bored look.

_I better go soon_. She thought as she saw that it was getting late.

Soon after, she quietly stood up, left some folded bills, and made her way outside as inconspicuously as possible.

Kiri-san and Yamamoto-san were waiting at a nearby ramen stall. They stood up and joined her, as though they just met up.

"How was it, Tomoe-san?", Kiri-san asked very quietly as they walked along the narrow pathway, returning to her house. The lantern dangled in regular swaying pattern as its dim light danced before their eyes, brightening the dark road and made their trip a little easier to tackle.

Tomoe was deep in thought, before she answered in what she hoped was a composed voice,

"I have seen him…is the source trustworthy enough?"

"Sure is Tomoe-san. Such information could only be disclosed among government political parties and selected officers, and now you have taken up this job, you practically belong to the Shogunate, you are one of them…just as we are, so they'd have to tell you everything as it is"

She nodded in understanding. '_I belong to them just like Aki once did'_

"Give me a bit of time, I will have to delve deeper into this matter", she responded.

"Of course Tomoe-san, and we're here to assist you.."

'_I'd have to come here again..soon'_

They were getting closer to her house, and so they swiftly changed their topic of conversation.

"Aah…that was really fun ne, Tomoe-chan…."

"Sure was…I really enjoyed myself then. Dinner was great. I thank you both, Yamamoto-san, Kiri-san", she bowed a customary polite bow toward them.

Enishi was watching their exchange of farewell. He has finished his schoolwork, and couldn't help but feeling relieved that his sister seemed to be enjoying herself tonight.

"Eni-kun…are you asleep yet?", a soft knock followed by the glimpse of familiar long tresses greeted him.

"Not yet, Nee-san…do you need me to do something?"

"Ah, no…You've eaten dinner right?"

He nodded "I have, it was very delicious, nee-san", he grinned widely at her.

She genuinely smiled at her little brother. _Ah, Eni-kun…_

"I'm glad you liked it…now you better be off to bed, Eni-kun…I'm rather sleepy myself" she said.

"Right…oyasumi, Nee-san", he complied right away.

"Oyasumi, Enishi". The door was closed softly and she turned to enter her bedroom.

'_I am at the beginning of my plan…feeling scared more than ever, but I gotta be strong for this. Eni-kun needs me still, and I don't want him to worry. I just want to stand up to a bit of justice for Aki…this is my only chance._

'… _I belong to them just like Aki once did…' _

Her eyes were downcast and sad as her slender hand painted the intricate kanji characters on the pages of her journal that night.

* * *


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer**: Watsuki can't get any angstier than this..grin…heheheh…I amuse myself..

* * *

**CHAPTER V **

**First encounter with White Plum **

**

* * *

**

Back in Tansawa Teahouse..

Hitokiri Battousai was amidst the Isshin shishi, as they merrily indulge themselves with alcohol, tobacco, and having a bit of fun with the girls of Tansawa teahouse, except he wasn't one to have fun with women. He just stood there, a cup of warm liquid no other than sake was held in his hand, as he observed his surroundings. No one around him seemed to care. They are a team, yes, he admitted that; but they don't know each other very well. They just got together to fight the oppositions. _Well, not that there was a need to know each other..._ He thought for a second and shrugged casually.._indeed this was a very convenient arrangement._

Without realizing it, he spared a swift glance to the corner table from which the beautiful woman was eyeing him. It was empty. His gaze was glued there for a bit longer. The table has been cleaned of any debris, only a vase with white plum flowers seems to grace its surface.

Strange… but he felt a twinge of disappointment at seeing the empty table.

_Why is this so?…_

* * *

**Shogunate Office - Kyoto **

'_Recruited in the home base of the powerful Shogunate spies has its benefits'_, Tomoe thought quietly. With most things going on in Kyoto, she doesn't have to go out of the region for any of her assigned task. And anyway, she has only one task to worry about…

* * *

Flashback 

It was a small room, almost bare if not for the presence of a wooden desk and a couple of chairs. Dusty windows and old, dull-colored curtain adorned the stuffy office, and all Tomoe wanted was to run away from it. But she didn't back away. Her determination alone was enough to prevent such thing from happening.

A leery-looking officer in his late thirties greeted her, smirking as she made a polite introduction. The beautiful sight before him was definitely a rare treat for his eyes.

"What is your reason to coming here? Looking for work?" he asked without preamble, observing her cool composure with an inscrutable look in his eyes, while licking his lips in anticipation. Tomoe immediately had to suppress a disgusted expression before it appeared on her face.

She nodded politely. "Yes, I.."

"If you don't have a good reason to apply for work, you might as well go back.. we don't have a vacant position to fill anyway", he cut her sentence off and dismissed her brusquely.

She took a deep breath. "Very well, I have a reason to look for work. My fiancé died a while ago, he was killed by the Isshin Shishi, and I was left alone. I have to find some means to earn a living", she replied, not in the least bit intimidated. Somehow she instinctively left out Enishi's name from her description.. she just didn't want to get him involved in the potentially dirty affairs of hers..

_No, I'm going in alone, and I will be all alone in this..._

A streak of white smoke from the burning tobacco held between his fingers was giving off foul odor, but Tomoe stood still, waiting for his answer. The officer already busied himself with other papers, ignoring her words.

One minute has passed.. she stood still.

Two minutes has passed... yet, she remained on her spot.

Three full minutes has passed when she quietly gritted her teeth to suppress her annoyance.

_Perhaps it was a stupid idea to have come here at all..._

She was on the verge of turning away from the despicable officer, thinking that he'll just dismiss her anyway, when suddenly…

"…Isshin Shishi, huh? Hitokiri Battousai, I presume.. ah, please sit down Miss.."

"Tomoe", she supplied warily, not about to mention her surname to the questionable officer in front of her.

He put down his cigarette and took out a dark colored folder, quickly flipping through it. "What's your fiancé's name?", he enquired plainly.

Tomoe sat down and flinched slightly at hearing the despised name. _Isshin Shishi..._

She bowed down slightly to bite her lips, to prevent fresh tears from surfacing "…Kiyosato..Akira", she replied in soft whisper.

He nodded, not in the least bit interested in what she has revealed. "Ah…Kiyosato..Kiyosato…got him here…hmm…died while in duty.." _he obviously treated the sensitive subject just like a daily occurrence, _Tomoe sat with an empty look on her face as the officer studies the papers in front of him. Out of the blue, the indifferent face lit up, and along with a hideous smirk, he mumbled, "Hmmm..interesting….very, very interesting…"

She looked up, suddenly curious as to what he meant. "Pardon me..?", she enquired politely once again.

The officer took his eyes from the papers, grinning widely now, showing an array of yellowing teeth that further appalled her. " Well, we have a position available at the moment..if you want", a cunning voice was heard.

Tomoe was surprised. _What? Suddenly, there is a position?_, she eyed him cautiously. Refusing to answer right away, she got herself a scowl from the despicable man before her. "You've got exactly five minutes from now to decide, Miss, any longer and this position will not be available anymore", he said derisively, tapping his cigarette on the ashtray as a gesture of impatience.

"May I ask, what position exactly is available?", she firmly enquired.

Saying nothing, the officer dropped a piece of paper in front of her, apparently it was some kind of job description for her to read. She quickly tilted herself forward to scan the paper, her calm composure bellied her surprise as she browsed through the content of the paper.

"I'd like this position", she replied almost immediately, her eyes shone with an odd glimmer.

The officer smirked. "I've guessed as much. You'll start first thing tomorrow morning then.."

-End flashback-

* * *

Tomoe was flipping through a stack of papers with an acute observation. Her resolve about cracking the injustice that happened to her fiancée was as solid as a rock…though whenever she started to think about him, her eyes seemed to get all blurry and tears threatened to gather around them. She has to bite her lower lip to prevent such thing from happening, but thankfully, it was happening less and less often, as she was so absorbed at weaving her secret plan. 

'_I don't know whether it is such a good idea to work and be positioned here, but there is no turning back now…I belong to the Shogunate..and I will act like one of them'._

On the few weeks that followed, Tomoe regularly adhere to her training schedule during the daytime whilst attending Tansawa teahouse a few times during the evening, and was being very secretive in her every move to keep Enishi in the dark. If she was lucky, he didn't even need to know about it.

That night, she came out as usual for her gathering with some friends. Enishi was even getting used to that routine of hers and has relaxed a little around her friends, not that he said anything about it…but after taking care of him all these years, she could at least sense what her little brother was feeling..

She was thankful enough that he was such an independent boy, even more so now, especially after the death of her Akira..

Before she left for the night, however, she had a very strong feeling deep inside that twisted and turned her gut around…She gripped her purse tightly as she forced herself to walk out from her house.

'_Naze?_ _What is going to happen?'_…..

That night, she walked to the usual teahouse with an uneasy feeling. This has to begin somewhere..tonight..

She sat with Kitahara-san tonight, a trustworthy colleague of hers, whom she has requested a favor from. They entered the teahouse looking just like a normal couple, with Tomoe shyly stealing gazes at him and vice versa.

* * *

Battousai was there with the whole group, as expected. He was loathe to think that he was actually feeling quite excited to go to Tansawa tonight, knowing that she would be there. Yes, the lonely-looking woman who was there four times in a row in the passing weeks. He didn't know why, but he was attracted to that forlorn look she always sported. That was what he kept telling himself..but for some reasons..he couldn't quite grasp why she has drawn his attention at all. 

Tonight, as he fleetingly threw his glance to look around for the same woman, he felt a sudden tug of disappointment at seeing her with a man and they were conversing quietly, looking every bit like a married couple... well, disappointment was saying it lightly, it was beyond that..

_Although the guy did look a lot older than herself.._

'_Damn…she was one of those women'…_he cursed inwardly, his hopes to approach her quickly diminishing. One of his life principles was to avoid teahouse women and prostitutes alike.. and at all cost too...

A while later as he drank his sake, he willed himself to steal a glance at the couple's table..only to be surprised once more. They were just talking quietly, but the hushed conversation has suddenly turned into a little argument…. the guy seemed upset, his lips were set to form a thin, grim line.

The lady was trying to explain something, so it seemed, but the guy obviously didn't want to listen.

He took in all the sight presented to him with a strange keenness.. well, some of his weird instinct that welled up inside him told him to rush to their table and slash the guy into pieces, to be a hero…

wait….he's not usually so violent…granted he is a Hitokiri..but so far, he has always been avoiding unnecessary killing, especially killing ordinary civilians…

* * *

Battousai watched as the guy stood up quietly and left her there, and the girl was looking so heart-broken, but unable to do anything about it. Her eyes followed the figure that stalked outside, both of them filled out with warm moisture as she did so. 

She let it fall freely. Trickles of crystal-like droplets fell down from her eyes…unhindered for all to see…except no one was sober enough to notice her at all.

Something tugged at his heart when he saw the lady cried. She was so beautiful, even when she was crying. He wanted to do something.. he itched to do something…It doesn't even matter now if she were one of those teahouse women…

He didn't realize it, but his eyes have switched from a mere sidelong glance, now they were completely on her. He was watching, observing, waiting.. unsure as what to do. Eventually, the lady looked up, oddly feeling like she was being watched. Their eyes met in a stunned silence, with hers still pooled by tears.

He was mesmerized.

She was suddenly self-conscious at being caught.

She tried to wipe off her tears, bowing her head down in process, when he suddenly stood up from his spot and approached her.

"Daijoubu?", a masculine voice asked.

Tomoe was surprised at hearing it. She never thought that the petite redhead would have quite a deep voice. _Well, for one, he looked rather girlish.._

She still bowed her head, but she nodded to answer his question.

"Here…use this", he said uncharacteristically, offering her a clean piece of folded handkerchief.

She looked up in disbelief, then forced herself to bow her head down once again. He was just…"Ah….arigatou gozaimasu", she replied, while her hands shyly moved toward his to accept his offer.

She had to force herself to rid of the sudden trembling that crept up her arms and down to her hands as she accepted the thin cloth.

_She has such a beautiful voice too_….he reflected inwardly.

"…."

All thoughts and the carefully planned actions suddenly slipped her mind. Frankly, she was scared.

"I..ah..better go now…", she voiced out, wanting to avoid his penetrating gaze.

_Wait... I can't just leave it at this. I have to say something.. _

"I will…wash this…", her cheeks flushed slightly, indicating the handkerchief, as she bowed at him gracefully.

Then, swiftly she stood up from her seat, though she managed to do so elegantly enough. Her slender figure was walking off to the entrance, when, suddenly...

before he could think of his actions, he captured one of her wrists.

"Wait…", he said

Tomoe gasped as she turned her head, speckles of surprise and fear displayed on that lovely face.

"I..haven't got your name..", he awkwardly continued, inwardly cursing his reflexes.

_Why didI care? It was just a handkerchief.._

She gave him a slight smile. "Tomoe..", she softly replied. With that, she detached her wrist off his grip with one simple twist.

As fast as the wind, she was gone, leaving a trail of white plums fragrance on the air.

For once in his lifetime, Hitokiri Battousai was struck speechless.

* * *

**A/N** : another update to appease you, and as I have promised, this chapt.is longer… but after this chapter, there'll be some more delay, ( so, don't say I haven't warned you… ) I hope no one is too displeased with the delay… as this fic literally squeezed out my brain… he heh 


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